Posted By Mike Klis On October 7, 2013 @ 10:00 pm In General Broncos | No Comments

Tom Brady, Peyton Manning (Denver Post file)

Tuesday Morning QuarterbackIt’s tough to rate Tom Brady. We know what he’s done. Which is more than any other active quarterback. But you weigh that against what he’s doing now. Which isn’t much. The top two quarterbacks stay the same this week with no one playing at Peyton Manning’s level. But there are massive changes after Drew Brees at No. 2:Quarterback ……………….. (Last week’s ranking)

1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1)

No coach, no commentator, no player has ever mastered the game of football like this guy is now. His pace through four games last week of 64 touchdown passes seemed silly – except he’s still on pace for 64 TDs through five games.

2. Drew Brees, Saints (2)A great win in Chicago to keep Saints among the unbeatens. A great quarterback (Brees) with a great tight end (Jimmy Graham) and return of a great coach (Sean Payton) adds up to 5-0. An improved Saints’ defense, too.

3. Aaron Rodgers, Packers (4)Had serious red-zone issues but led six scoring drives and completed 20 of 30 for 274 yards in 22-3 divisional home win against the Lions.

4. Tony Romo, Cowboys (6)Phenomenal in torching Broncos secondary for 506 yards and 5 TD passes. But he did throw a game-losing pick late by throwing into double coverage.

5. Andrew Luck, Colts (8)Has now beaten Seattle and San Francisco. Only threw for 229 yards in 34-28 win against Seahawks but was clutch late.

6. Alex Smith, Chiefs (10)And then there were three undefeated quarterbacks. Down 17-13 in fourth quarter but calmly led three scoring drives to lift Chiefs to improbable 5-0.

7. Philip Rivers, Chargers (5)Threw three picks in late Sunday night loss at Oakland. Otherwise had a nice fantasy performance, completing 36 of 49 for 411 with 2 TDs.

8. Russell Wilson, Seahawks (7)Rushed for 102 yards and threw for 210 with 2 TDs. But only completed 15 of 31 in loss at Indy, his second below-50.0 percent performance.

9. Tom Brady, Patriots (3)Again, a second below-.50.0 percent passing day in 13-6 loss at Cincinnati. Did not throw a TD pass, snapping 52-game streak. He’s not been in the same league this year with his rival Peyton Manning.

10. Terrelle Pryor, Raiders (unranked)Played so well late Sunday night in win against Chargers, Raiders cut his backup, Matt Flynn. Completed 18 of 23 for 221 yards with 2 TDs, 0 INTs and ran three times for 31. Converted huge third-and-long late.

11. Jay Cutler, Bears (18)Had his best statistical game in a loss, throwing for 358 yards on 24 of 33 passes with 2 TDs and 0 picks. But took a sack fumble that helped Saints win.

12. Geno Smith, Jets (28)He’s not reading or audibling. He’s just playing. And he has the talent to play. Attempted just 20 passes against Atlanta on Monday night, but completed 16 for 199 and 3 TDs. Led game-winning FG drive in final 1:54.

13. Matt Ryan, Falcons (11)Down 27-14 early in the fourth quarter, directed two long touchdown drives to put Falcons up. But Mike Nolan’s defense was no match for Geno Smith.

14. Colin Kaepernick, 49ers (12)Only completed 6 of 15 for 113 yards in a 34-3 pasting of Houston. His defense did it all with four turnovers.

15. Matthew Stafford, Lions (9)Take away Calvin Johnson and there’s not much there. Threw 40 times but for just 262 yards and 9 points in another loss at Green Bay.

16. Nick Foles, Eagles (unranked)Came off the bench to replace Vick in second quarter and threw 2 TD passes while completing 16 of 25 to lead Eagles to win against Giants and share of NFC East least.

17. Robert Griffin III, Redskins (13)Bye week. Gets to tear up the Cowboys defense next on Sunday night.

18. Andy Dalton, Bengals (20)Can’t knock a quarterback that just beat the Patriots. But he only threw for 212 yards with a bad interception and no touchdowns in 13-6 victory.

19. Joe Flacco, Ravens (23)A nice win at Miami, and passed for 269 yards. But no touchdown passes and one pick. For the season he has just 5 TD passes against 8 interceptions for 27th-best 70.1 rating.

20. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (22)Stewed on 0-4 record during bye week. Plays at the New York Jets this week.

21. Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (25)Threw for 307 yards and a TD against Baltimore but again took too many sacks and suffered second consecutive loss.

22. Brian Hoyer, Browns (15)Give him credit for going 3-0 as a starter. But terrible slide cost him the season.

23. Sam Bradford, Rams (30)Only threw for 222 yards against Jags but three were for touchdowns with no interceptions in 34-20 win.

25. Matt Cassel, Vikings (19)Tough bye week. Played well going in, leading Vikings to first win of season. But then Vikings signed Josh Freeman with idea of giving him the starting job in another week or two.

26. Cam Newton, Panthers (16)Came off a bye week throwing three interceptions and leading zero touchdowns in lopsided, 22-6 loss at Arizona.

27. EJ Manuel, Bills (21)I grabbed my knee in paid when I saw him take a helmet to the kneecap. Out four to eight weeks. NFL is tough on mobile quarterbacks.

28. Brandon Weeden, Browns (unranked)Came off the bench for injured Hoyer and played well, completing 13 of 24 for 197 in win against the Bills. Has to stop taking sacks, though.

29. Carson Palmer, Cardinals (26)Threw three picks in a 22-6 home win against Carolina.

30. Mike Glennon, Bucs (27)Learned during the bye week the starting job is his and only his as team released Josh Freeman.

31. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Titans (unranked)With a chance to deliver the Chiefs their first loss, he threw two picks in the final 6 minutes. Limited talent was no match for Chiefs defense.

32. Blaine Gabbert, Jaguars (31)Was 9 of 19 with two picks when he left with injured hamstring in third quarter. Unfortunately for Broncos, he won’t play Sunday.